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November 22, 2011

I made this upma for dinner yesterday. Its a simple one pot meal. It tastes best with sambar.I add equal amount of rice and green gram dal ( Pacha Payaru/Paasi pauaru in Tamil) in this upma. So its very filling and rich in protein. We wanted little mushy. So I added more water.But if u add the quantity of water given below, u'll get the rice grains separate and fluffy. Please use the water according to your choice.

INGREDIENTS1 cup - 200ml

Steamed rice or Raw rice - 1/2 cup

Green gram / Pacha payaru - 1/2 cup

Water - 1- 1.25 cups

Salt - As needed

To temper

Cooking oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Channa dal - 1/2tsp

Green chilly - 2 no (slit into two)

Curry leaves - A few

Ginger- 1 inch (cut into pieces)

Hing / Asafetida - 3-4 generous pinches

METHOD

Heat a kadai and dry roast the rice till it slightly puffs up.

In the same kadai add a tsp of oil and roast the green gram until nice aroma arises.It may take 5-8 mins.

Now heat 1 tbsp of oil and temper the items given above in the same order.

Then add the roasted rice and dal. Add the required water and salt .Transfer everything into a pressure cooker.

November 1, 2011

Nowadays i am using karisilankanni keerai in my cooking twice a week for health reasons. I make kootu and this chapathi.But i would say,we love this chapathi more than kootu ;) It is very easy to prepare.I make this for my hubby's lunch box. It stays softfor hours and onion raita is the best side dish. I use the same method to prepare palak and other keerai chapathis.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

Karisalankanni leaves- 1 bunch

Wheat flour - 1 cup

Besan flour - 1 tbsp

Sambar powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Curd - 1/5 cup ( adjust)

Olive oil - 1 tsp

Salt -as needed

water - As needed

METHOD

Wash the leaves .Heat the kadai with a tsp of oil and saute the leaves till it reduces to half in quantity.

Grind to make a smooth paste by adding little curd . Now in a bowl , take the wheat flour,besan flour , sambhar & garam masala powder,salt and water.Knead well to make a soft , pliable dough.

October 20, 2011

Nowadays i am making oats buttermilk porridge and oats- wheat rava idly for my hubby very often. I wanted to try some other simple and yummy dish with oats. Last weekend i tried this for our breakfast . I got this recipe from aval vikatan supplementary. It was very nice. The actual recipe called for grinding , fermenting and all. But i made an instant paniyaram with little left over idli/dosa batter. The taste was awesome. It was like the usual one we make with idli batter.We loved it. Try this and let me know.I’ve also written the actual recipe at the end of the post.Please have a look at it.

INGREDIENTS

Quaker quick oats – 1/4 cup

Idly / dosa batter – 1/4 cup

Salt & water – As needed

To temper

Olive oil/ Cooking oil – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp

Urad dal – 1/2 tsp

Channa dal – 1/2 tsp

Big onion – 1 no (chopped finely)

Green chilly – 1 no (-do-)

Ginger – 1 small piece

Curry leaves – a few

SOUR CURD – 1.5 TSP (OPTIONAL)

METHOD

Dry roast oats for few minutes and grind to make a fine powder.

Mix idly batter and powdered oats with the required salt and water. The batter should not be too thick.

Temper all the items given above and mix in the batter.

Take a non-stick paniyaram pan and pour the batter. Drizzle little oil if necessary.

Cover and cook for sometime. Flip and cook the other side for few mins.

Delicious oats paniyaram is ready to savour with coconut chutney or any other chutney of ur choice !!NOTE

This paniyaram would be very soft inside . So dont think its uncooked. It cooks very fast just like our normal paniyaram . Just cover and cook in sim fire for sometime. Its enough.

I dont like the smell of oats to be dominant here . So i’ve added equal quantity of oats and idly batter. U can lesser the amount of idli batter and try.

I think i am the last one to write about this most eagerly awaited e-book from Indus ladies .U can download this e-book here . There are so many wonderful , unique recipes being published.I am elated that my BOONDHI LADOO recipe is also featured in this book :) Thanks a lot INDUS LADIES !!

October 16, 2011

I hope u all would have tasted this at the time of puberty.People usually make this with black urad dal with skin and palm jaggery(Karupatti in tamil) as it is supposed to be more healthy.In Tamil nadu, our grand mothers used to give this for the teen aged girls to make the bones strong especially Hip bones.When my paati gave this for me, i hesitated & cried a lot to eat this .But now i know its importance. Nowadays at this early age, we get pains in joints and back very often.We are not able to bend continuously for sometime.We get pain in spine.This shows the weakness of our bones.Urad dal helps to strengthen the bones.Apart from this urad dal has lots of other health benefits too.So its better to have urad dal in our regular diet to avoid all these problems.Apart from eating idli/dosa and vada, I feel this is also a good choice of including urad dal in our daily diet..So lets see how to make this ulundu kali/Urad dal kali at home.

INGREDIENTS

URAD DAL – 4 TBSP

JAGGERY or PALM JAGGERY – 4 TBSP

GINGELY OIL – 2 TBSP

CARDAMOM SEEDS – 2 NOS

WATER – AS NEEDED.

METHOD

In a kadai ,roast the urad dal till golden yellow. Powder it in a mixie adding cardamom seeds. Store it in an air tight container.

Now take 4 tbsp of urad dal powder in a bowl and mix 2 cups of water.

Cook the urad dal for 7-8 mins. It thickens . Stir well for sometime and make sure there are no lumps formed.

Now add the powdered jaggery and mix well . Keep the fire in low flame. Allow it to boil till the raw smell of jaggery emanates.

Add the gingely oil and stir well.U’ll get a glossy , sliding non sticky kali is ready to njoy ..

Delicious , healthy uluthankali is ready to eat !!NOTE

If u use palm jaggery instead of jaggery , dissolve in water and make a syrup. Strain and use.

October 3, 2011

I wanted to make a simple , healthy salad with sprouts, mixed vegetables and fruits for a long time. I googled so many basic salad recipes and came out with my version.Here i used grated beetroot .So the color of beetroot dominates here. Otherwise it would be a colorful salad to attract ur kids. Make ur choice of adding or omitting the veggies and fruits given in this recipe.

INGREDIENTS
For 1 person

Sprouted green gram - 1 handful

Carrot - 1 no(grated)

Beetroot - 1/2 no ( grated) (optional)

Big onion - 1/2 no (chop finely)

Cabbage - Few leaves ( chop finely)

Pomegranate - 1 handful

Guava - 1/2 no ( Chop into squares)

Coriander leaves - A few

Lime juice - Few drops

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - As needed

METHOD

Take a wide bowl and mix all the ingredients given above. Squeeze a few drops of lime juice. Mix well and serve !!

Variations

Add two pinches of chat masala to the above recipe to give a nice flavor. But adjust the salt as chat masala contains salt.

U can also add chopped tomato pieces and cucumber pieces when u want to serve instantly otherwise the salad may become watery.

I usually pack the above salad for my hubby's lunch box without tomato and cucumber.

August 29, 2011

I learnt this from my MIL. Usually we make this gravy only with drumstick. But during mango season , we make this combination. It tastes great with the excellent flavor of mango. If u don't get sour raw mango ,no problem , u can try this with drumstick alone by adding little tamarind extract to get the tangy taste. We mix this gravy in plain rice with little ghee.Here i've used Vengaya vadagam for seasoning.I think most of u may not have/aware of this. So i've given the ingredients below to replace vadagam.
Try this simple & delicious poricha kuzhambu. Iam sure u'll love it and start to make it often.

Pressure cook moong dal by adding a pinch of turmeric powder and a drop of oil. Mash it and set aside.

Now in a bowl , take the drumstick pieces.Add the required water & cover cook. When it is half cooked, add the cubed mango pieces and add more water if necessary. Once it starts to boil , add the sambhar powder, salt & cooked moong dal. Cover cook till mangoes & drumstick pieces get cooked.{Make sure the mango pieces should not be mushy and dissolved in the gravy}.

Now grind the grated coconut adding little water to make a smooth paste.

Mix this paste to the gravy and allow it to boil for sometime. If u feel the gravy is too thick, add water to bring the consistency. (In this step , check the salt & spice, add if needed)

Suppose if the gravy is too watery after adding the coconut paste , u can add a little amount of rice flour to make the gravy thick.But this step is purely optional.

At last , season the gravy with vengaaya vadagam or the above mentioned items. If u use the above said items for tempering, saute till everything turns golden brown. This gives a spl flavor to the gravy.

ENJOY MIXNG WITH HOT PLAIN RICE & A DROP OF GHEE OR SERVE AS A SIDE DISH FOR VATRAL KUZHAMBU / SAMBAR RICE.

August 23, 2011

I got this recipe from my friend.It tastes good with idli / dosa. My MIL used to tell me the numerous health benefits of ginger. So i started using ginger in my daily cooking. Once in a week i make thogayal / pachadi / chutney with ginger.Do try this chutney , i am sure u'll love it.

INGREDIENTSTo roast in oil

Ginger - Thumb finger size

Red chilly - 2-3 nos (reduce to one if u want less spicy)

Grated coconut - 1/4 cup

Chana dal - 1 tbsp

Urad dal - 1.5 tbsp

Tamarind - small berry size

Cooking oil - 1 tbsp

Salt & water - as required

To temper ( I couldn't temper as i was in a hurry . But I suggest u all to do this step )

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - few

METHOD

Chop the ginger into small pieces.

Heat a kadai with a tsp of oil and saute the ginger pieces,dals and red chillies.

Finally add the grated coconut,salt & tamarind.Fry for a minute.

Grind everything into a smooth paste.Temper all the items given above.

August 16, 2011

I came to know about this aval kesari/poha kesari from my school friend Swarna.It was very new to me because i've tasted kesari made with rava / semiya. When she told about this i found it interesting. I made for my friday pooja . It came out well and tasted excellent. We loved it.Its very simple to do. Try this and let me know ladies !!

INGREDIENTS

POHA / THICK AVAL - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/2 - 3/4 cup (I used 1/2cup)

Water - 1.5 cups ( U can replace water with milk too )

Ghee - 2 -3 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Cashews - A few

Orange-red food color / Kesari color - a pinch

METHOD

Heat a kadai with a tbsp of ghee and fry the cashews. Remove and set aside.

Now add the aval/poha in the same kadai and fry till it gets roasted with a nice aroma.U can add another tbsp of ghee while roasting.

Now grind the roasted poha to a coarse powder like rava.This enhances quick cooking.

Take the measured water in a bowl by adding food color.Allow it to boil.

Lower the flame and add the ground poha. Mix without lumps. Cover cook for 10 mins stirring in between.

Once the poha gets cooked, add sugar and mix well.

Add a tbsp of ghee at this stage. Mix well.

Mixture will be a liquid.

Stir constantly for few minutes adding tsp of ghee at regular intervals ( may be 7 - 8 mins). It will become thick.

At one stage the kesari becomes non sticky and leaves the sides of the pan.

Add the roasted cashews and cardamom powder . Mix well and transfer to a bowl .

Serve hot !!

TIPS :

Here I've mentioned the actual ratio given by my friend.So adjust the sugar & water ratio accordingly .Add more ghee while u make for ur guests ;)

August 1, 2011

Last weekend I was breaking my head thinking about what to prepare for dinner. Finally I asked my husband what he wanted to have. He told me to prepare upma urundai / upma kozhukattai and he also said its been a very long time we prepared this. Yes , I agreed. I totally forgot about this dish. Upma kozhukattai is nothing but steamed rice dumplings. I gave a call to my MIL for the recipe and made it. It was tasting soft and excellent. Thanks to my husband for reminding me this yummy tiffin. Also i've got a different and interesting South Indian recipe to share with u all :)

INGREDIENTS :1 cup - 200ml

Raw rice - 1 cup ( Use good quality Sona masoori)

Toor dal - 1.5 tbsp

Water - 2 cups

To temper :

Cooking oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Asafetida /Hing - 1/4 tsp

Green chilly - 1 no ( cut into two)

Red chilli - 1no

Ginger - 1 inch piece ( cut into small pieces)

Curry leaves - A few

Pepper powder - 1 tsp

Grated coconut - 1/4 cup ( optional)

Salt & water - as needed.METHOD:

Take the raw rice and toor dal in a mixie jar and grind it like rava. It should not be too coarse, remember. Set aside. Alternatively you can soak the rice & dal for 2 hours, drain the water and grind it.

Now in a broad kadai , temper all the items given above in the same order.

Add 2 cups of water and the required salt. Allow it to boil.Now add the ground rice mixture.Mix well for sometime without forming lumps.Let it thicken.

The rice absorbs all the water and becomes a non sticky dough. Lastly add freshly grated coconut (optional) and pepper powder.Mix well.

Let it cool down. Now grease the idli plate with little oil. Make balls out of the dough and arrange it in the greased idli plate.Steam the balls for 10-15 mins.

Soft , hot upma urundai is ready to serve. We enjoyed with the sambar I made for lunch. U can have it with any chutney. Sometimes this can be served as an evening snack without any accompaniment.

June 30, 2011

I've posted varieties of idli sambar learning from my MOM & MIL.This one is my MIL's special sambar. Sendhil loves this a lot . So I make it at least once in a week.It tastes similar to hotel sambar. I make this sambar for Idli, dosa and pongal specially for my guests.

Soak the tamarind in warm water for 20 minutes and take the extract using a cup of water. Set aside.

Pressure cook all the ingredients given under "to pressure cook" till one whistle.Mash the dal and set aside. Heat oil in a kadai and roast all the items given above in the same order till nice aroma arises.Powder coarsely and keep aside.

Mix well & boil for sometime( Be careful while adding the powder because it may form lumps.So gently stir in & sprinkle the powder simultaneously.) When it boils, add jaggery & boil for some more time.

Finally temper all the ingredients given under "to temper" and switch off the stove. Garnish with coriander leaves.Transfer to the serving bowl and top it with a tbsp of ghee .( I add only when there is a guest ;) )

For restaurant style sambar, add a few curry leaves while roasting the ingredients given for sambar powder.** Also try adding a tsp of grated coconut for additional flavor while roasting.** Add veggies like brinjal, Drumstick and carrot to make it more healthy.

In this sambar, we should add very less tamarind extract.So it will taste mild and less spicy. If u want it more spicy & tangy , add pinched red chillies while tempering and squeeze some drops of lime juice before serving.

May 24, 2011

I learnt this delicious kuzhambu /rasam from my MIL.Just like Kazhani kuzhambu , this is also an easy , unique recipe.I usually make pitlai with BG.But this is something different in taste and the procedure.Here comes the recipe with the picture..

INGREDIENTS

Bittergourd - 1 no (medium size)

Tamarind - Small gooseberry size

Salt & water - As needed

To roast & grind :

Oil - 1 tsp

Toor dal - 1.5 tsp

Channa dal- 1 tsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Red chilly - 4 -5 nos

Grated Coconut - 1 tbsp

To temper :

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - few

METHOD

Slice cut Bittergourd with 1 inch thickness.

In a pressure cooker , take the bittergourd slices and cook till 1 whistle.

Take a tsp of oil in a kadai and roast the ingredients given above. Powder it coarsely and set aside.

In the kadai , heat oil and temper the items given under "to temper". Now add the tamarind extract , salt , hing and curry leaves.

March 28, 2011

I googled so many recipes , referred some cookbooks and finally came up with this version. Some have suggested to make this vada with gram flour & rice flour and some recipes are with urad dal.I felt recipe with urad dal would be better. If u want to make Mixed Veg bonda, then gram flour /besan would be the best option..

INGREDIENTS
For the batter :

White round urad dal – 1/2 cup

Salt - as needed

Water – 2 - 3 tbsp ( upto 1/4 cup)

Asafetida / hing – 1/4 tsp

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Green chilli – 1 no

To mix :

Carrot – 2 nos

Grated Cabbage – 1/4 cup

Potato – 1 no ( Optional)

Green chilli – 1 no

Small onion – 10 nos

Curry leaves - A few

Coriander leaves – A few

METHOD

Wash and soak urad dal for 1 hour.

Grind all the ingredients given under ‘ the batter’ in a mixie.

Chop the carrots , small onions , green chillies very finely.

Grate the cabbage. Mix all the veggies to the batter .Check for salt.

Heat the oil in a kadai and deep fry vadas in batches.

Serve hot !!

NOTE

We dont have to worry about the shape of vadas, U’ll get a nice perfect shape.The batter mixed with vegetables would be very thick.

Suppose if the batter is watery , add little rice flour to get the proper shape. But this step wont be needed.

March 24, 2011

This is my MIL’s special recipe.We bought some sour raw mangoes and i told my MIL to make something special with it. she told me about this kuzhambu and we tried on the same day. It was excellent .Its very simple to do. If u get sour mangoes, do try this .I am sure u’ll love it.It got a similar taste of puliodharai /puliyogare.Thanks a lot to my MIL for teaching me this yummilicious gravy / kuzhambu.I loved it.. .

March 21, 2011

I think most of u know and make this porridge .U all may wonder if i say this is the first time i am making this .Yes, for the first time i prepared this quick , delicious porridge and enjoyed for breakfast today.I got this recipe from a blog , made some additions and relished with pickle .

INGREDIENTS 1 cup - 200ml

QUAKER OATS – 1 /2 CUP

Butter milk –2 cups or half cup of sour curd

Water & Salt – As needed

To temper :

Oil – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Urad dal – 1 tsp

Red chilly – 1 no ( Pinched into two )

Curry leaves – a few

Asafetida – 2 pinches

Ginger – a small piece ( finely chopped)

Coriander leaves –Little ( chopped )METHOD

Soak the oats in water for 15 mins . This step is purely optional.

Pressure cook the oats till one whistle.Mash it well with a ladle.

Now add the buttermilk and salt. ( Add less buttermilk if it is too sour)

Temper all the items given above and add it to the oats mixture.

Mix well.Garnish with coriander leaves.

TIPS

If u feel the porridge is too sour, add milk or water to reduce the sourness and adjust the salt accordingly .

U can add finely chopped raw mango pieces to get a nice flavor and taste.

March 8, 2011

We make this side dish only for sambar rice. Sambar Sadam , Carrot puttu & appalam (papad) is a divine combination..I learnt this from my mom.Its very easy to prepare.Try this for kids .. I am sure they’ll love it.Its always better to eat the carrots raw to get the complete nutrition.If not possible, its good to steam to retain the nutrition.Here i ‘ve steamed the carrot. So i feel this side dish is good for growing children who doesn’t eat raw carrot .

INGREDIENTS

Carrot – 3 nos ( Grated)

Big onion – 1 no (Finely chopped)

Green chilly – 1 no ( slit into 2 )

Grated coconut – 2 tbsp (optional)

Salt – As needed.

To Temper :

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp

Urad dal – 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves – Few

METHOD :

Grate the carrot. Spread the grated carrot in the idly plate and steam it for 10 –15 mins in idli pot.( This method retains the nutrition in carrot )

Finely chop the onions and slit cut the green chillies.

Now in a kadai , add oil and temper the items given above .

Add the onions & chillies . Saute till onion turns transparent.

Now add the steamed carrot , salt and toss well.

Keep in low flame for sometime by tossing in between.

Now add the grated coconut , stir for sometime and switch off the flame.

As we cook the brinjal , its shrinks in size but the color is retained. My mom makes this curry in other way too.She slit cut the brinjal into 4 pieces , stuff this podi , use lot of oil and saute it till brinjal gets cooked in oil.Since this method consumes more oil and also the color of the brinjal turns black , we avoid making this way. For kids , u can try this method..

February 15, 2011

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February 10, 2011

When i was searching for recipes using left over idlies , i came across this kaima idly in sharmilee’s blog. I got attracted by this title & tried it on the same day.It was very nice.Thanku so much sharmilee :). Now i am posting this for my future reference.Sure kids would love this..

INGREDIENTS :

Left over idlies – 5 nos ( cube cut )

Big onion – 1 no (finely chopped)

Tomato – 2 nos (-do-)

Green chilly - 1 no ( finely chopped)

Capsicum - 1/2 no

Red chilly powder– 1/2 tsp

Dhania powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Salt – As needed.

To temper :

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Urad dal – 1 tsp

Channa dal – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – a few

To garnish :
Coriander leaves - few

METHOD:

Heat a kadai with 2 tbsp of oil and shallow fry the cube cut idly pieces.( u can also deep fry)Set aside.

In the same kadai, add a tbsp of oil and temper the items given above.